"The central doctrine of Christianity, then, is not that God is a bastard. It is, in the words of the late Dominican theologian Herbert McCabe, that if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you."--Terry Eagleton

"It is impossible for me to say in my book one word about all that music has meant in my life. How then can I hope to be understood?--Ludwig Wittgenstein

“The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice."--Bryan Stevenson

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Word Gets Around

“I talked to some of my friends, including some members of the German legislature and the French government and they were astounded,” [Jeremi] Suri [chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs] says. “In addition, Trump did not allow a single American reporter into the Oval Office for that meeting but he allowed Russian news media, Russian photographers, even Russians carrying electronic surveillance equipment… My friends in the intelligence community tell me that they’re concerned that the Oval Office is no longer secure.”

Let that last sentence sink in a moment; and then consider this:

“President Trump in the 110 days he’s been president has filled every day with lies, prevarications and a constant changing of position on every major issue,” Suri says. “Even on this issue of the firing of James Comey, the White House has given five different contradictory explanations. How can you expect any ally, if you’re the leader of Germany, the leader of France, the leader of China, to believe anything you say?”

So just a short time ago, NBC released footage of its interview with the President conducted by Lester Holt. In that interview Trump is crystal clear that he decided to fire Comey entirely on his own. He asked Rosenstein to write out his views. But he was going to fire Comey regardless. That specifically contradicts what Pence said in an impromptu press conference yesterday on Capitol Hill.

Trump is like a wild fire hose whipping about violently, driven not by coils and water pressure but his own demons and rage. He will say whatever he wants at any given moment based on emotion, impulse, and his impression of tactical advantage as of that moment. This is not strategy. It’s an out of control person. But there are now large numbers of people and institutions implicated in Trump’s actions. They are on the line and along for the ride with every twist and turn.

The leader of Germany, the leader of France, the leader of China, can see that, too.